Nasdaq Delists CoolSavings

After undergoing months of punishment from investors and industry analysts for its continued losses, Chicago-based CoolSavings Inc. , its stock down to 12 cents a share, has been delisted by Nasdaq.

Nasdaq said the company, one of the original coupon outfits on the Internet, had failed to provide a definitive plan to achieve and sustain compliance with the net tangible assets and/or stockholders’ equity requirements for continued listing

CoolSavings, whose shares will automatically trade on the Nasdaq Bulletin Board, said that Nasdaq has “raised additional concerns that the company may have violated Nasdaq’s voting rights rule,” but did not elaborate. The company said it is considering its options, including a possible appeal.

The coupon marketing site began operations back in 1997 and was considered innovative in its day. The company’s e-marketing infrastructure combines multiple incentive and promotional solutions — such as targeted coupons and e-mail, loyalty points, category newsletters, rebates, savings notices, samples, gift certificates and trial offers — with database technology designed to let advertisers build personal relationships with 16.5 million registered members.

The company, which lost $39.2 million last year, ran head-on into the Internet advertising downturn. Australian financial services firm Lend Lease owns about 28 percent of the company; Richard Rogel, who was appointed chairman in 2001, owns nearly 20 percent, according to Hoovers.

Earlier this month CoolSavings, which has cut more than 25 percent of its workforce so far this year, reported net revenues in the third quarter of 2001 were $4.3 million compared to $11.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The company reported a loss of $8.3 million, or 21 cents per share, compared to a loss of $9.5 million, or 24 cents per share a year earlier.